SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Trading Down 6.4% - Here's Why

Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) fell 6.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $25.91 and last traded at $25.80. 1,315,911 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 1,990,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $60.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.08.

SM Energy Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.34. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.16. SM Energy had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 27.61%. The company had revenue of $844.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SM Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in SM Energy by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 25,119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,624 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,822 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,644,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA purchased a new position in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $396,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 393,864 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $15,266,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.

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